Vacant Site next to St. Sebastian’s Catholic School (Photo: St. Sebastian’s)
June 18, 2021 By Christian Murray
A large development company has purchased the vacant lot next to St. Sebastian’s School in Woodside for $5.5 million.
United Construction and Development, which has a portfolio of mixed-use buildings throughout Queens, bought the vacant lot from St. Sebastian’s Roman Catholic Church on March 25.
The company confirmed that it purchased the 39-53 57th St. site under the name Woodside 57 Street Realty.
United Construction, located on Northern Boulevard in Corona, is a major player in several large developments in Queens.
It is part of a consortium of developers behind the 68-story Skyline Tower in Long Island City, the tallest building in Queens. It also is the developer of the Justice Avenue Tower in Elmhurst, near the Queens Place Mall.
The 68-story Skyline Tower in Long Island City (Photo: Queens Post)
The Woodside site, once a playground for school children at St. Sebastian’s, is large with a frontage on 57th and 58th streets. The property is 1/2 an acre in size.
On June 8, United Construction filed plans with the Dept. of Buildings calling for the site to be subdivided into 8 tax lots. The company has yet to file building plans.
St. Sebastian’s, a parish saddled in debt, put the property on the market last year. It was listed by the brokerage company Cushman & Wakefield as a development site for $6.25 million.
“The site offers a developer the opportunity to capitalize on the low supply of luxury rental and condominium housing in the neighborhood,” the listing read.
The property was put on the market largely due to financial reasons.
“St. Sebastian’s parish property includes an empty lot and given its limited use, it has been listed for sale,” said a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees parishes in Queens and Brooklyn. “This is simply a financially prudent decision,” they said in October.
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